Blood In The Breeze
by Fateamind
Summary: "I owe their father this much. If you do not allow this, than I cannot guarentee I will join you on your quest to Erebor," Gandalf finally threatened, exactly what Thorin had feared he'd say. The path to Erebor is changed drastically when twins Adaline and Deonynn are to join the dwarves half way on their quest to reclaim their lost home within the lonely mountain. Thorin/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey! So this is my first Hobbit story, I hope you all like it.**

**I just want to note that this story will differ from the book and films, as I want to do something different from following the familiar storyline. I hope it works and that you enjoy it!**

**I fear the first bit is a bit boring but relevant, so bare with it! All constructive comments and reviews are welcome!**

* * *

"_It's not use," one of the Elven healers snapped sharply from behind the closed doors, "she'll be dead by morning."_

"_You must try!" another voice yelled._

"_I have tried everything!"_

_A long pause filled the air as Adaline sat with her back against the wall of the hallway, her heart beating furiously and her entire body shaking._

_She flinched as she heard a loud 'CLANG', followed by her brother screaming, and what only she could assume was him falling to his knees and crying._

_She pressed her eyes together as more tears gathered in her eyes, slowly rolling down her cheeks. She rocked back and forth with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, listening to her brother sob furiously from the other side of the wall._

_She thought back to the first day they had arrived in Rivendell, her, her brother and mother. They had arrived with a group of other broken families, exhausted from travelling far from Arnor after many years of war and destruction had brought it to its knees. _

_Adaline's father had been murdered amongst the many brave men descended from those of Númenóreans, fighting to save the last of the Dúnedain's lands. Finding refuge in Rivendell, Adaline and her family settled amongst the elves and other few widowed families of Arnor._

_Adaline hated it. Hated it from the moment she came here._

_Don't get her wrong, Rivendell was beautiful, and many of the elves treated her with such a level of royalty that she did not deserve, but it had always been such a struggle for her to settle in amongst them._

_To begin with she put it down to the heartbreak of losing her father for the reason she did not make friends. However, as she grew older, and less heartbroken, she could not help but begin to realise that the elves she lived amongst did not take kindly to her._

_Her mother and brother on the other hand, fit in perfectly. Her mother found many friends, especially amongst the other widows who had lost their husbands the same way Adaline had lost her father. And her brother seemed to settle in amongst the male elves, practising their methods of swordsmanship and warfare daily._

_She could not blame the elves for not taking warmly to her. Grief-stricken from losing her father, Adaline never made an effort with the female elves, subsequently, shunning herself as an outcast._

"_Adaline," a soft voice spoke from beside her, causing her to flinch._

_She lifted her head to find the soft eyes of Elrond, a grim look washed upon his face._

"_I am sorry," he said quietly._

"_Don't be," she sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We knew this was to happen."_

_Elrond smiled sympathetically at Adaline, then took a seat beside her on the floor. She could still hear Deonynn crying next door where her mother's lifeless body lay._

"_She was a wonderful woman," Elrond finally spoke, "they tried everything they could to save her."_

"_You do not need to explain yourself," Adaline said bitterly, this was not his problem her mother had grown ill._

_Elrond had been beyond amazing to Adaline and her family when arriving in Rivendell. He had watched over them and cared for them with such care that they could have been mistaken for his own family._

"_What do we do?" she asked him, her voice breaking._

_Elrond turned to her with a frown._

"_What do you mean?" _

_Adaline winced and shook her head, trying hard not to cry._

"_I can't stay here," she whispered, tears swarming her eyes and her throat sore. "I cannot."_

_Elrond took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly._

"_You always have a home here, Adaline," he said seriously. "You know that."_

_Adaline nodded quickly._

"_I know," she sighed._

_She took a deep breath and sighed heavily, turning her head to Elrond._

"_I cannot stay here though," she told him. "I cannot live in these walls that have caused me so much sorrow over the last year."_

_Elrond gave her hand another light squeeze, and brushed the top of it lightly with his thumb._

"_I understand," he said softly, "and I will help you."_

* * *

Adaline drummed her fingers on the dark, sticky oak table before her, her chin resting lightly on her other hand which was clenched into a fist for support. She gazed at her twin brother who crossed the tavern, two empty ale tankards in hand.

She felt tired. The journey from Rivendell had taken its toll over the last few days and was beginning to show upon her face. She remembered the many nights where they were too far from an inn or any sort of shelter and slept upon the uneven ground beneath the open sky; her back throbbed to further remind her of the discomfort she and her brother had endured.

She was, however, happy to finally reach Bree after a good twenty days of travelling. Her brother had been ruthless with the number of times they stopped to rest. At the time, Adaline cursed her brother for not letting them stop, ignoring the fact their legs and backs ached, and their stomachs growled of hunger. But, now they were sat in the comfortable tavern in Bree, with relief of knowing they had a proper bed for the night, she felt guilty for previously thinking such begrudging thoughts towards him.

"Here you are," he said excitedly as he sat before her, pushing a large tankard towards her. "The barman said this one is five percent stronger than the usual ale."

Adaline grinned at her brother's enthusiasm; she loved how excited he got over the simplest of things. Her smile shortly faded and she grimaced after bringing the tankard to her lips and taking a large sip. It was a strong ale and the only way she could describe it was that it tasted...well...brown?

"You don't like it," her brother, Deonynn, observed as the muddy taste stuck in her mouth.

"No," Adaline lied quickly, knowing her brother wouldn't rest easy until she had a drink she was happy with. "It's just stronger than I am used to."

"Five percent stronger," he winked. "Are you sure I cannot get you something else?"

"Deonynn, it's fine," she assured him with a soft smile.

She loved her brother dearly, but he didn't half worry much.

"We're doing great time," Deonynn stated.

Adaline was too busy thinking of ways to dispose of the ale quickly to notice him pull his map from the inside pocket of his cloak.

"How much further until we reach Lindon?" Adaline asked curiously, eyeing the map.

"Hard to say," her brother sighed. "It will depend on how kind the terrain will be, I hope another twenty five days ride if we can keep up the good pace."

"Are you sure we cannot stay here another night?" Adaline asked hopefully; Bree was very welcoming to her. It was nice to be around men instead of elves, and drinking real ale as opposed to fine wine.

"I wish I could say yes," Deonynn said with a sympathetic smile.

Adaline sighed and looked down at her hands. Although Elrond had been certain Lindon was the best place for them to travel – and she trusted his judgement completely – she could help question whether she would be happy there.

Adaline's eyes crossed the room where a loud group of four men had caught her attention, laughing obnoxiously amongst themselves.

"I will make a deal with you though," Deonynn said, drawing her attention from the four drunk men. "We can stop for the night in Hobbiton."

"Hobbiton?" Adaline frowned. "With the hobbits?"

"No with the trolls," her brother grinned sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Adaline laughed lightly, feeling embarrassed at her own stupidity.

"I'm sure we can find somewhere to stay there," Deonynn said as he gazed at the map.

"I have heard they are welcoming folk," Adaline added.

Deonynn looked at her from the map with a raised eyebrow.

"I have heard otherwise," he sighed. "Until then dear sister –" he took the map and folded it neatly, before placing it back in his cloak pocket, then taking his tankard and finishing the end of his ale, "- it's your round!"

Adaline slowly broke into a laugh and shook her head.

"Here," she said, pushing her more than half full tankard towards him as she stood up, "you can finish mine too."

"I knew you didn't like it!" Deonynn laughed as she passed him and made her way towards the bar.

As she crossed the tavern with Deonynn's back to her, she couldn't help but notice the group of four men again, this time they were wolf whistling and yelling crudely at a poor barmaid who had passed them with a tray full of ale.

"What can I get you, lass?" the barman asked with a strong, Northern accent. He was a short, sweaty man with an obvious receding hairline.

Adaline placed her order, this time ordering a softer ale for herself as the sickly taste of the one Deonynn had bought her lingered in the back of her throat.

She stood silently as the short barman wondered off to pour two fresh ales for her. Her eyes glanced around her, curiously looking at the men and women stood at the bar, drinking and laughing merrily. She smiled softly to herself at the sight. One of the women, stood a few feet away from her with two gentlemen, lifted her tankard at Adaline and winked at her. Adaline nodded back, suppressing a large smile.

Yes, Rivendell was filled with drinking, chatter and much laughter, but she had never been a part of it. She had never understood the jokes they told, neither was she invited to talk or 'hang' with anyone. Here in Bree however, it just felt much simpler to fit in with everyone heartedly enjoying themselves.

Adaline turned her head away from the jolly woman to notice that one of the four drunken men she had spotted previously, now stood beside her. For reasons unknown to herself, she suddenly tensed, feeling very uneasy.

"'ere, Ibarwen, get us a pint darlin'," he slurred to one of the barmaids, "and why don't you give us a kiss whilst you're at it?"

He laughed loudly and clasped his large hand down on the bar, the barmaid humoured him with a small grin and set about to pour him a drink.

"Here you are, lass," the short barman said to Adaline as he placed two full ales before her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, handing him some money in exchange.

Adaline grabbed the two ales quickly, hoping to get away before the drunk could notice her, but she was too late.

"Well hello there," he suddenly said as Adaline took the tankards from the bar and turned to head back to her seat. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a tavern like this?"

Adaline, completely ignorant in what to do in this sort of situation (having never been in one), simply stared at him like a deer in headlights.

The man laughed loudly at her shocked expression.

"What's your name beautiful?" the man asked, leaning one arm against the bar, slipping as his did so.

"Adaline," she simply stated, before taking a foot forward to walk back to her brother.

"Ah, now don't leave me so quickly," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "Come talk to me."

He took a small piece of her long auburn hair and ran it through his fingers delicately.

"No, thank you," Adaline said uncomfortably, "I need to return to my brother."

"Who's your brother?" the man slurred, letting go of her hair.

Adaline nodded towards Deonynn who sat alone, finishing the end of the ale she had given him.

"Him?" the man snorted. "He's not as handsome as me."

Adaline frowned and stuttered.

"...well. He's my brother?" she said slowly.

"Come on, what can I buy you?" the drunk man asked, ignoring his previous ludicrous comment.

"Nothing," Adaline said sternly. "Now please, excuse me."

This time she had managed to take a good three steps towards her brother before the drunk grabbed her arm for a second time, and pulled her towards him.

"Now you're just being rude," he said through gritted teeth.

Adaline began to feel incredibly nervous. Nobody around her seemed to notice the man's behaviour and Deonynn had his back turned towards her, completely oblivious to the situation unfolding.

"I do not like when people are rude to me," the man said, now grinning.

He lowered his hand towards her behind and gave it a rough squeeze. Adaline let out a shriek of disgust, dropping the two full tankards in her hand and slapping the man harshly across the cheek.

The sound of the tankards falling to the ground seemed to grab some attention as the man held her wrist tightly in his hand, still near where it had slapped him.

He stared at her with wild eyes, his nostrils flaring furiously.

Adaline glanced to where her brother was sat, too far away to have heard the sound of the tankards dropping within the bustling tavern to be concerned.

"You're going to pay for –"

Adaline jumped as a loud 'THWAP' filled the air as a staff smashed down upon the man's head, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the floor with a great thud, revealing a very tall man dressed in grey.

"Disgusting drunk," he grimaced, hitting the man once more roughly with the bottom of his staff. "Are you OK, my dear?"

Adaline was too shocked to speak.

"Thank you," she finally managed to splutter. "Really, thank you."

"Do not thank me, Miss Durnen," the man dressed in grey smiled politely, bowing his head gently. "It is not by chance we meet here tonight."


	2. Chapter 2

Adaline did not sleep well that night; tossing and turning in her bed, she could not settle easily regardless of how hard she tried. After what felt like many hours of trying (and failing) to sleep, she sighed heavily and sat up in her bed, looking around the dark room. A small ray of light shone through the curtained window, trailing across the floor boards and towards the bedroom door.

After Gandalf had departed, Deonynn and Adaline sat silently at the table, lost in their own thoughts. They did not discuss what the wizard had said to them, but simply decided to call it a night and sleep on the matter.

'Sleep on the matter,' Adaline scoffed in her head, 'I would if I could.'

"Adaline?" Deonynn's voice spoke softly from the bed opposite her.

She looked upwards to see him sitting up straight.

"Can't sleep," she mumbled lazily.

"Me either," Deonynn said as he rubbed one eye sleepily.

They fell into a familiar silence, the only sound came from a light breeze flowing through the open window.

"What do we do, Deonynn?" Adaline finally asked.

Deonynn shook his head.

"Why did you not tell me you were unhappy in Rivendell?" he questioned.

"What would have been the point?" Adaline sighed, shrugging one shoulder. "Mother was happy, she felt safe with the elves."

She paused and gazed at her brother's dark silhouette.

"You were happy. We were treated very well –"

"You had no social life," Deonynn argued, thinking back and realising how his sister spent most of her time locked away in her room or in the library.

"That wasn't important," she tried to convince him. "What was important was that mother was happy and well looked after. She had just lost father and did not need me moaning at her and asking to settle somewhere else."

The room fell silent again. Adaline could now here a faint snore coming from the room next door.

"Then why didn't you tell me were unhappy once mother had passed?" Deonynn interrogated further. "You could have suggested moving here to Bree, or to Rohan –"

"- Elrond was convinced Lindon would be the safest place for us to travel," Adaline said. "He was sure there would be more people of our own heritage settling there."

Deonynn sat silently as he took in his sister's words.

"Do you believe the wizard?" he asked her.

Adaline shook her head and shrugged.

"I cannot say," she sighed.

The siblings sat in silence and debated what to do.

"It seems a bit random," Adaline admitted. "Why would father not tell mother to move to Gondor?"

"It all seemed to happen so quickly," Deonynn recalled. "I do not believe we knew where we were headed as our home lay to ruins. Maybe she had intended to continue to Gondor, but once we reached Rivendell she settled."

Adaline nodded slightly in agreement, looking down at her hands that rest in her lap.

Deonynn let out a heavy sigh and stood from his bed, moving over and sitting beside her.

"Do you want to live in Lindon?" he asked her seriously, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Adaline paused and bit her lip in thought.

"I want a new start, Deonynn," she admitted. "I grow tired of living amongst people who look down on us."

Deonynn sighed.

"So you want to move to Gondor?" he then questioned.

"I want to live amongst men," she said honestly. "Gondor, Bree, Rohan...I do not care."

Deonynn paused, then withdrew his arm from around Adaline and began to play with his fingers awkwardly.

"You know, father used to speak of Gondonr," Deonynn told his sister. "He told me that the bravest men fight to protect it, and that one day I would be one of those men."

Adaline looked at her brother's dark figure sat next to her, now her eyes had settled to the darkness, she could begin to make out the disturbed expression upon his face.

"He told me that he'd move the family there one day," he recalled. "He told me that you'd –" he let out a hearty chuckle, "- you'd settle with a nobleman."

Adaline and her brother both shared a small laugh.

"Of course, this changed after he passed," Deonynn said with a small, broken voice.

The siblings fell silent once more, Adaline couldn't help but notice the snoring from next door had finally subsided.

"Why are we going to Lindon, Deonynn?" she finally asked. "Let's move to Gondor. Think how exciting it will be. New people, a new home. You can train amongst the great men of Gondor like father always wanted."

Deonynn looked at his sister through the darkness.

"And whilst I won't marry any nobleman –" they both grinned, "- I will be able to study new, ancient languages and histories. I have grown bored of studying the way of the elves and their tales."

Deonynn smiled and squeezed his sisters hand, but his smile soon shortly faded.

"And what if we do not like it there?" he asked.

This time, Adaline squeezed her brother's hand assuringly.

"Then we return to Rivendell, brother," she said softly, "Lindon will wait."

* * *

After her late night conversation with Deonynn, Adaline found she still could not sleep. Not because the wizards words were whirling around in her mind, making her question why her and her brother travelled west, but because she could not help picture her new life in Gondor.

She lay smiling at the ceiling as she imagined it. New people, new libraries, new literature, a whole new life.

Adaline felt she had only just finally dropped off when her brother stood at her side, shaking her from her slumber.

"Come on, Adaline," he said softly. "We need to get going if we want to catch Gandalf in Hobbiton."

Adaline groaned and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"OK, I'm up," she sighed.

They packed their things together and made a short stop for breakfast, before returning to their horses outside.

"How long to The Shire?" she asked as they saddled their horses.

"A couple of days," Deonynn guessed. "We shall not have much time to stop if we want to make it in time."

They set off together, the sun happily beaming down on them. Adaline smiled as they left Bree, excitement filling her as she continued to think of Gondor. She had seen many illustrations of the great city, but half expected it would look more magnificent in person.

"I do have one question," Adaline said as she frowned. "Why are we travelling with Gandalf -?" she paused and thought of what he had previously said, "- and not to mention with thirteen dwarves."

"Gandalf was certain the road there would be dangerous," Deonynn shrugged. "I cannot say I disagree. Not only that, I do not know the way from Rivendell, neither do I know the way if we travelled to Rohan passed Isengard."

Deonynn looked over his shoulder at his sister who rode behind him.

"I do not wish to risk getting us lost as winter approaches, dear sister," he paused and grinned, "or kidnapped."

Adaline smirked at her brother as he turned back to face before him as they continued to trot through the outskirts of Bree.

"He was very serious about not telling the dwarves that we will be travelling east to Rivendell," Adaline pointed out, recalling the wizard's seriousness in not feeding any information on their directions of travel to the thirteen dwarves.

"Come on, Adaline," Deonynn laughed from before her. "You're smart; you should know dwarves and elves aren't the greatest of friends."

* * *

They had travelled throughout the day, only stopping briefly to let their horses have a rest and a drink. By nightfall, they came across a slope in the woodlands they travelled within. In part of the hilly slope sat a rocky edge, which ever so slightly hung over the lower ground, looking like a small cave.

"We shall stop here for the night," Deonynn told Adaline as he jumped from his horse and walking towards the rocky groove. "This'll be a great spot to rest."

Adaline nodded and jumped down from her horse, untying the bags she had strapped to it earlier that morning.

"I shall get some firewood, how about you start on some food?" Deonynn suggested as he crossed past her and made his way further into the woodland, axe in hand.

Adaline turned to one of the bags and pulled out a dead rabbit they had bought that morning before departing from Bree. She sat on the floor with her back against the rocky slope, pulling a small dagger from her boot (the only sort of weapon Deonynn would let her carry) and began to work on skinning the rabbit.

Deonynn returned shortly after Adaline had finished skinning the rabbit with a handful of wood. Once he had a warm fire going, Adaline began to cook for them both, making as best she could, a rabbit stew.

"This is excellent," Deonynn complimented as they finally ate.

"Thank you," Adaline smiled.

From a young age, Deonynn had been taught to fight and train in swordsmanship and warfare. He was very good with a sword and axe and had gained great skills from the elves over the last eighteen years in Rivendell.

Adaline on the other hand had never been taught such things, neither had she ever cared to learn it. Adaline's curiosity lied within a book, not at the hilt of a sword. There was however, only so much Adaline could learn over the last eighteen years. She had spent most of her days in the library, reading upon the elvish history, languages and old geography. But that was only as far as she ever got. She never read upon the tales of men, dwarves and orcs, or learnt their languages. She partly blamed this on the fact her mother grew ill, and Adaline found herself becoming a full time carer. Which is where she learnt probably the most practical skill she knew, cooking.

"It's nice to eat meat again," Deonynn grinned happily as he finished his bowl.

They had never eaten meat within Rivendell, but this never stopped Adaline and Deonynn, to their mother's pure hatred and worry, going out into the wild to hunt and enjoy whatever animal they could find in the outskirts of their home.

"I better wash up," Adaline said as she took her brother's empty bowl.

"There's a stream down there," he pointed towards the south, "not too far. You should be safe; I feel we're the only people out here tonight."

Adaline couldn't help but smile at her brother, knowing full well he had scouted the area as best he could to check for danger.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

Deonynn nodded and Adaline turned to head towards where he had pointed.

Less than a quarter of a mile away, Adaline found the stream Deonynn had mentioned. Getting down on her knees and leaning over, she set about cleaning the two bowls and spoons they had used as best she could.

She smiled softly as she did so, once again, thinking of what awaited for her and her brother in Gondor. She pictured their new house, decorated how _she_ wanted, where she could happily sit with a book and forget all the grief she had been struck with over the last few years of her mother's illness.

Once the bowls were clean, Adaline rose to her feet and began to walk back towards the camp, carefully balancing the wet bowls and spoons in her hand.

She had only taken a few steps forward when she heard a small _cracking_ noise, like a twig breaking under someone's weight.

She instantly froze, her eyes darting around the dark forest. Ahead, she could just see the orange glare of their fire. Had Deonynn followed her to make sure she was OK?

She moved towards a nearby tree and stood behind it, peering out into the darkness, trying to look for any signs of movement.

But none came.

She swallowed hard and bent down, grabbing the knife from her boot. Slowly and cautiously, Adaline took a step around the tree and began to walk back to the campsite, knife at the ready as the bowls and spoons balanced unevenly in her other hand.

She had managed to walk a good few yards forward, before she heard another _snap_ of a breaking branch.

She immediately spun around, just in time to see someone squat down by a tree she had only just walked by.

"Stay back!" she yelled before she could stop herself, cringing as she realised her stupidity.

"What the -!" the person cried as they stumbled, almost toppling over as they tried to stand and pull their trousers back up.

"Oh my, I am so sorry," Adaline blushed, looking away.

"What do you think you're doing sneaking up on people like that?" the person cried angrily, tying his trousers back up. "I didn't even see you!"

"Really, I'm terribly sorry –"

"Can a dwarf not take care of business out in the middle of nowhere in peace?" they continued to yell, clearly disgruntled.

"I didn't mean to -" Adaline stumbled, feeling horribly embarrassed. "- I'll just get back to my camp."

Adaline made to walk back to Deonynn, when the person called out and strode forwards.

"Woah, wait one moment," they said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "What's a woman doing out here alone?"

"I'm travelling –" she stopped just short of telling him where to, "- with my brother."

Adaline finally looked at the person – well, dwarf – stood before her. He had very long blonde hair with intricate braiding, and wore thick, brown clothes, made of expensive looking furs.

"It is not safe out here," he told her. "He should not have let you come alone."

Adaline retracted her arm from the dwarf's hand and frowned at him. He stood maybe just an inch or two shorter than herself.

"I do not think he expected me to walk into a gentleman's public toilet," Adaline humoured him, to her surprise, the dwarf laughed loudly.

"I am sorry about that," he said, "I was sure I was alone. Lucky you caught me...well just before...you know." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Adaline!" a voice suddenly yelled from behind them.

Both Adaline and the dwarf turned to see Deonynn running towards her, his sword in hand.

"Deonynn," she called, waving so he could see her.

He ran faster than Adaline had ever seen him run. Once he had finally approached them, he grabbed Adaline roughly and pushed her behind him, standing between her and the dwarf with his sword pointed directly at the side of the dwarf's neck.

"Deonynn, no!" Adaline cried as the dwarf put his hands up slightly in surrender.

"Who are you and what are you doing with my sister?" Deonynn asked furiously.

"He's doing nothing with me!" Adaline argued as Deonynn held her back.

"Do not think I won't cut your head off, dwarf," Deonynn hissed.

Suddenly, a loud '_CLANG' _rang through the air as an arrow landed short of Deonynn's hand and bounced off of the sword. Deonynn hissed and dropped the sword in seconds of it landing mere inches from his hand.

"Do not threaten my brother!" someone called from the trees.

Adaline turned to see another figure slowly walking towards them, their bow and arrow aimed threateningly towards the twins.

Deonynn pushed Adaline backwards.

"It's rude to threaten," the blonde dwarf sarcastically said, picking Deonynn's sword off of the floor and studying it.

"Run, Adaline," Deonynn yelled.

Adaline however, remained very still.

"Run!" Deonynn repeated, glaring at her with both a mixture of fear and anger.

"Oh, please," the blonde dwarf laughed. "We are not going to hurt you."

"We're not?" the second dwarf spoke again, lowering his bow.

"No, Kili, we are not," the blonde dwarf said shortly, throwing Deonynn's sword before his feet.

Deonynn quickly bent down and retrieved his sword.

"That's no fun," the second dwarf muttered, placing his arrow back into his quiver.

"Who are you?" Deonynn asked with a heavy frown, his sword now lay limply at his side, no longer threatening.

"Fili."

"And Kili," they said one after the other.

"At your service," they chimed together with a short bow.

"I am Deonynn, son of Gúr, and this is my sister, Adaline," Deonynn introduced. "We travel west to Hobbiton."

"No kidding," Kili said with a grin. "We ride to the Shire."

Fili glared quickly at his brother, clearly annoyed at how openly he had been to share their information with the two strangers stood before them.

Adaline and Deonynn did not take long to put two and two together.

"You head to meet with Gandalf the Grey," Deonynn spoke sternly.

Fili and Kili both frowned.

"How do you know that?" Fili asked.

"Because we head to see the wizard too," Deonynn said, looking around the dark woods.

"To see Gandalf?" Kili said confused. "Why?"

"Our business is our own," Deonynn said, "as I am sure yours is."

Fili bowed his head shortly at Deonynn in some sort of agreement, whilst Kili and Adaline looked between the dwarf and man, keen to share more information.

"Will you come back to our camp?" Fili invited. "We have just cooked more than enough food to share."

"No, thank you," Deonynn said, grabbing Adaline's wrist. "We have already eaten."

Fili nodded his head again.

"Come on, Adaline," Deonynn ordered. "We need to get some sleep."

Deonynn began to pull Adaline from the dwarves. She couldn't resist looking back at Fili and Kili over her shoulder as her brother dragged her back to their camp.

"Try knocking before entering our bathroom next time," Fili called after her, laughing heartily with Kili.

Adaline turned away immediately, blushing violently as her brother glared angrily before him.


	3. Chapter 3

At first light, Deonynn and Adaline set off together. Upon returning back to the camp that previous night, Deonynn had been in the worst of moods, barely uttering more than, "You should sleep," to Adaline.

That morning thankfully, his mood seemed to have lifted ever so slightly.

"Deonynn," Adaline finally spoke as they continued their journey to the Shire.

"Hmm?" Deonynn said, looking to his side where his sister was sat upon her horse.

"Why do the men of Rohan and Dwarves not get on?" she asked curiously, a matter she had never heard or read upon other than Gandalf mentioning it back in Bree.

Deonynn took a deep sigh and looked ahead of him to the muddy path, his eyes squinted as the sun glared before them, rising high over the hills.

"If I remember correctly, during the middle of the Third Age, Frumagar, chieftain of the Éothéod was forced to lead his people north where they settled in the far northern part of the Wilderland, just below the Grey Mountains." Deonynn explained. "A Long-worm Dragon named Scatha lived within his lair in the southern slopes of the Grey Mountains, greatly troubling the Dwarves and Men living in the lands North of the Wilderland."

Adaline listened to her brother intently.

"Scatha stole a great deal of their treasures, and was believed to have been the one to murder Dain I and his son Frór," Deonynn continued. "However a man named Fram, son of Fumagar, successfully slay the great beast. Thus, he won the dragons collected wealth, as well as renown for the deed."

"And then what?" Adaline pressed.

"Not only did he gain the dragon's horde, he gained the hatred of the dwarves," Deonynn said seriously, "who claimed the treasure of Scatha. Fram infuriated the dwarves by sending them the teeth of Scatha, strung as a necklace and denying them the rest of the horde."

They rode silently side by side, the sound of their horse's hooves rapping rhythmically on the pathway filled the air.

"It is believed the dwarves slew Fram," Deonynn added. "For that, there was never a great love between the Rohirrim and dwarves."

Adaline bit her lip and then carefully glanced at her brother.

"Do you hate dwarves?" she asked.

Deonynn's head instantly snapped to look at her.

"No!" he said quickly.

Adaline looked ahead of herself, unconvinced after his display and hostility the previous night. Catching wind of this, Deonynn sighed.

"I am sorry if you felt I was rude last night," Deonynn finally spoke, finding it hard for himself to admit.

"Why were you so hostile?" she queried.

"I was worried they were to hurt you," he shrugged. "I do not _hate_ dwarves, but I do not trust them."

Adaline glanced back at her brother who was frowning at the road before him in thought. She did not press any further, as she did not want to bring him into a worse mood than he had already been in.

* * *

Night was shortly falling upon them when they finally reached The Shire.

"It's so calm here," Adaline smiled as she watched a group of hobbit children run around one of the hobbit homes front garden, laughing and screaming playfully as they did so before being called inside by their mother.

"I think we need to head this way," Deonynn said, nodding towards the path ahead which split off into two, one continuing past more hobbit holes, another leading up a slight hill.

Adaline followed Deonynn up the hill and passed another set of hobbit holes. She smiled as she caught glimpse through one of the holes window. Inside sat a large group of hobbits, seated around a large, round table with vast amounts of food piled on top of it.

"Merry bunch, aren't they?" Adaline grinned.

Deonynn nodded shortly, his mood apparently still slightly bitter. Adaline couldn't fathom if Deonynn's mood remained sour because of their meeting with Fili and Kili, or because they were not having any luck with finding the hobbit's home they were due to meet Gandalf at.

"Excuse me," Deonynn finally stopped by an older hobbit, sat outside the front of his home on a bench. "Could you please tell me where Master Baggins resides?"

"Get out of here you dratted –" the hobbit swore profanity Adaline had never heard of before, or would ever like to hear again for that fact "- We don't need you kind of folk around these parts!"

The old hobbit waved a fist angrily at them in good riddance and stood from his bench to chase them off.

Deonynn and Adaline were quick to move away as the hobbit continued to yell at them.

"Yes, a very merry bunch indeed," Deonynn said sarcastically, making Adaline grin.

After what felt like an hour, but was probably more realistically twenty minutes, of trying to locate the house, a small, blue light caught Adaline's eyes from one of the houses ahead of them.

"There!" she called excitedly, pointing at the hobbit hole. "That's the mark!"

"That's the one," Deonynn nodded in agreement as they approached Master Baggins's house, the thief's marks shining brightly on the front door.

They jumped down from their horses and tied them up in the front garden where they happily began to graze.

Once their horses were settled, Adaline moved towards the front door, when her brother grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Adaline," he said quietly, looking at her very seriously.

"What's wrong?" she frowned.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Deonynn asked. "It's not too late to continue to Lindon."

Adaline smiled and cupped his face with her hands.

"I have never been so sure about something in my life," she smiled.

Deonynn smiled at her and nodded, placing a hand on her wrist as her hands remained cupping his face.

"Are you ready to face whatever madness waits for us beyond this door?" she asked him.

Deonynn glanced at the door and sighed heavily as Adaline retracted her hands.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Thirteen dwarves...what could be worse?"

* * *

Deonynn knocked upon the wooden door, rapping twice with his fist.

After a brief moment, followed by the sound of shuffling from behind the door, it swung open to reveal Gandalf the Grey.

"Gandalf," Deonynn nodded with a smile.

"Master and Lady Durnen," Gandalf smiled back happily. "I was beginning to worry you had decided to continue your travels to Lindon."

"We have thought seriously on the matter," Deonynn told him, "and decided that you are right. Lindon is not for us."

Gandalf beamed.

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you agree," he said warmly. "Your father would be delighted."

Gandalf finally stepped aside from the door and held out an open hand.

"Please, do come in out of the cold," he offered.

Adaline and Deonynn walked into the hobbit hold, curiously studying their surroundings. It certainly differed to homes of the elves Adaline thought to herself.

"Hello," a small voice spoke from their left hand side; it sounded more of a question than a greeting.

"Ah, Bilbo," Gandalf said happily, unaware to the hobbits tone of voice. "Please let me introduce Master and Lady Durnen. Adaline, Deonynn, this is Bilbo Baggins."

"How do you do?" Adaline smiled at the hobbit that now stood before them, his hands angrily placed upon the top of his hips.

"Not brilliant," the hobbit snapped.

"My dear Bilbo," Gandalf said, finally catching wind of the hobbits frustration, "what on earth seems to be the matter?"

"What's the matter?" Bilbo said disgruntled. "I'm surrounded by dwarves! What are they doing in my house?"

"They're quite a merry gathering," Gandalf chuckled, "when you get used to them."

"I don't _want_ to get used to them!" Bilbo snapped. "There's mud on the carpet, they've pillaged the pantry and I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom, they've all but destroyed the plumbing."

Bilbo was suddenly distracted when he saw a dwarf carrying a large board of cheese through to where Adaline assumed the rest of the dwarves were seated.

"Ah, no!" he cried, running after him, leaving Adaline, Deonynn and Gandalf alone. "You can't have that!"

Gandalf chuckled to himself and smiled at Adaline and Deonynn, who shared a curious (and slightly unconvinced) glance.

"Now, come, let me introduce you to everyone," said Gandalf, ducking lowly to avoid hitting one of the wooden beams that ran along the low ceiling.

Adaline was first to follow, with Deonynn shortly coming up behind her. She looked in awe around the little hobbits home that was filled with such magnificent furniture and art, all of which looked rather expensive and good quality.

They came to the end of the long hallway, passing a number of rooms on their way and stopping when they came across what appeared to be Bilbo's now empty pantry and a dining area, crammed filled with dwarves.

They were all sat laughing loudly, before all bringing a large tankard of ale to their mouths and joining in what Adaline could only assume was a drinking competition.

Once they had all slammed their tankards onto the table (much to Bilbo's distaste), they all proceeded to burp in turn.

Adaline and Deonynn looked at each other and grimaced, as Gandalf leant against the door frame, pipe in hand and a bright smile across his face.

The dwarves laughed and cheered, slamming their hands loudly upon the table.

Adaline noticed Fili and Kili sat at the end of the table, furthest away from where they stood; and it did not take the two dwarves long for them to see the two siblings they had met the previous night, stood arms folded and disgusted looks washed across their faces.

"Adaline!" Fili called. "Deonynn!"

All of the dwarves who had been oblivious to their presence turned their attention to the brother and sister, a few of which stood up sharply, glaring at them.

"What are they doing here?" one of them cried loudly, pointing furiously between them both.

"Who invited a man and a woman?" another yelled.

"Please, sit," Gandalf said calmly, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Gloin, Dwalin, there is no need to fret."

"There is no _need_ for them to be here," the dwarf Adaline assumed was named 'Dwalin' snapped angrily, glaring viciously at both Adaline and her brother.

"Dwalin please," Gandalf spoke softly; a hint of frustration rang through his voice. "Adaline and Deonynn bring you no harm. They are here on very simple business with me."

The dwarves all fell quiet, the few of which had stood slowly and reluctantly sat back down.

"If they are on business with you than why do you bring them here?" the dwarf with reddish hair who had previously yelled out asked Gandalf.

"Because, Master Gloin, they will be aiding me, and in some cases you on our journey east," Gandalf explained.

The room fell silent again as the dwarves shared concerned looks and small whispers.

"Thorin will not like this," a small dwarf with white hair said warningly. "Not one bit."

"I am aware of this," Gandalf said with a small nod.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the hobbits front door and Gandalf looked from Adaline and Deonynn to the dwarves.

"That is why you will leave the talking to me," he said seriously.

* * *

Thorin Oakenshield was unsure of what to expect when he arrived at the Shire. However he was very happy to be greeted by old friends and especially happy to see his nephews had arrived unscathed.

His delight soon turned to concern once the burglar had been introduced to him. He debated silently whether Gandalf had chosen very poorly or whether Gandalf would soon present the real burglar, as if Bilbo were some practical joke.

Fili and Kili had lead Thorin towards the dining area where they had all been previously sat. He couldn't help but notice a distinct look of nerves amongst his nephews face.

Now that he thought about it, as they walked through the hobbits home, he couldn't help but notice that there was a tension amongst the whole group. As he turned the corner to the dining room, he stopped short; now fully understanding why.

A young man and woman sat at the dining table together, quarrelling quietly amongst themselves. They instantly stopped as Fili, Kili and Thorin approached the archway, with the other dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo following behind them.

Were these the real burglars? Thorin thought silently.

He eyed the male, noticing his armour and weapons tied to him. He looked more a fitting burglar than the hobbit.

He then turned his attention to the girl sat beside him. She was not dressed like the male and neither did she carry any weapons.

"Thorin, may I introduce to you Deonynn, son of Gúr and his sister, Adaline." Gandalf spoke from beside him. "Adaline, Deonynn, this is the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

The girl instantly rose to her feet and made a small bow, smiling weakly at Thorin. She took no hesitation in kicking her brother who remained sat down, cautiously examining Thorin.

Once Adaline's foot met his shin, Deonynn hissed and slowly stood, nodding at Thorin reluctantly.

"You may," Thorin finally spoke, "and you may also tell me just why they are here."

He looked away from the siblings and up at Gandalf, wearing a very un-amused expression.

"Please, we have much to discuss," Gandalf said, gesturing for Thorin to sit.

Thorin looked back at Adaline and Deonynn and nodded to himself.

"Evidently," he said, cocking one eyebrow and taking his seat.

* * *

Once everyone was seated; Dwalin sat on Adaline's side, whilst Bombur sat on Deonynn's, both begrudgingly, they all waited for Gandalf to speak. Adaline had come to learn the dwarves names very quickly, trying her hardest to pay attention as there were so many. Deonynn on the other hand was clearly struggling with who was who.

"So, Gandalf," Thorin said as food was placed before him, "do explain as to why I have a grocer for a burglar and appear to be in the presence of a man and woman."

A number of the dwarves laughed quietly, Adaline however did not hesitate to glare angrily at Thorin. She did not mind him insulting her or Deonynn, but it seemed unfair to criticise the Hobbit who was housing and feeding him for the night.

"Let me explain about Deonynn and Adaline first," Gandalf said, holding up a hand to silence the chuckling dwarves and pausing until the room fell quiet.

"I was a very good friend of their fathers, Gúr Durnen," Gandalf began. "A Dúnedain who's family came from Númenóreans."

Everyone looked at the twins.

"As we all know the Dúnedain have struggled profusely over the last many years, Gúr and his family were those who watched their homes fall to the ground," Gandalf continued. "Gúr's wife escaped with her two children and many other families, Gúr however remained with many of the men, patrolling the boundaries of Eriador. Unfortunately, Gúr was murdered many years ago by a pack of orcs."

Adaline couldn't help but clutch her brother's hand, the only attempt she could make to stop herself from crying at the thought of their lost father. Deonynn softly squeezed her hand and smiled sympathetically at her.

"I had always promised Gúr that I would see his family settle in Gondor had anything happen to him, where he was aware many of his friends had migrated and knew they would happily take care of his family whilst he remained in the North," Gandalf said. "Unfortunately, before I could reach Gúr's wife, she had happily settled in Rivendell amongst the elves, alongside a number of descendants of Dúnedain who had also taken refuge."

"I fail to see how this has any part in our quest," Thorin said shortly.

"Gúrs wife passed away from a long term illness a few months ago," Gandalf continued, choosing to ignore Thorin's rude bluntness. "Lord Elrond decided that Adaline and Deonynn should move to Lindon, away from the memories of their late mother."

Gandalf turned to look at the twins and smiled at them softly.

"Thankfully, I managed to catch up with them in Bree as they travelled west," Gandalf said, "and convinced them that their home is in Gondor, amongst their own kin."

Thorin looked at Gandalf with an expression and stature that simply read, "And?"

"I see it fit that I travel with the two to Gondor, along the east road and then South," Gandalf explained. "I owe their father this much."

"Why can they not travel on their own?" Dwalin piped up, a few of the dwarves nodded and cheered in agreement.

"Because the road to Gondor in this day and age is _not safe_," Gandalf snapped. "Especially for a lone man and woman, neither do they know the way."

"The road south towards Rohan from Tharbad is simple," Thorin frowned.

"I will not have them pass through Isengard alone," Gandalf said. "It is not what it used to be. I would much prefer them to return eastwards with us, where the three of us will depart southwards where I also have other business to attend whilst I am there."

The room fell silent.

"I thought you were here to help us," Thorin stated, feeling annoyed the wizard had already planned to abandon them so soon.

"I offered you my help, Thorin Oakenshield and I still do," Gandalf said calmly. "But you know I cannot be with you throughout this whole journey."

Thorin's jaw muscles twitched as he stared fiercely at the wizard. He shortly turned to the rest of the dwarves and then gazed at Adaline and Deonynn.

"I am not willing to share any of our profit with the two of them," Thorin said, causing Adaline and Deonynn to frown in confusion.

"They have no interest in your gold," Gandalf said quickly before they could question him. "They are simply going to travel half of the journey with you and your men."

Thorin paused again for a moment.

"I will not take a man and a woman with us," he said decisively. "They will be a burden."

"I fail to see how to extra hands will become a burden in a fight," Gandalf argued.

"Can you fight?" Thorin instantly shot at Adaline.

"Well, I – I –" Adaline stuttered and stumbled for words, caught off guard by Thorin's interrogation.

"Of course she can't," Oin cried.

"**She's nothing but skin and bones!"**

"**She'll get us all killed!"**

"**I am not risking my life for her."**

"**I'm not getting murdered because she can't use a sword!"**

"_QUIET_!" Deonynn yelled, slamming his fist against the table as the dwarves began to protest. "I will not sit here whilst you insult my sister!"

"And can you fight, Master Deonynn, son of Gúr?" Thorin asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course I can," Deonynn scoffed rudely, as if Thorin should have been able to judge that by the sight of him.

"Aye, it's true," Kili nodded. "He had Fili at surrender in seconds."

"That's not fair, I was unarmed!" Fili retorted, stamping on his brothers foot.

"You know them?" Thorin frowned and Kili cringed in pain.

"We met them on the road here last night," Fili elaborated. "It was a rather...interesting introduction."

The two dwarf brothers grinned at Adaline, causing her to blush violently again. She looked up at them just in time to see Kili wink at her, shortly after receiving an elbow to the ribs from his brother and a stern look.

"Ouch!" Kili cried, punching Fili in the arm.

"OK, so he can fight," Thorin continued, oblivious (or choosing to ignore) his nephews scrap. "But what about her?"

He nodded at Adaline.

"I will not risk the lives of my men for a damsel in distress," he then added.

"Lady Durnen is perfect capable of looking after herself," Gandalf spoke.

"She's useless to us," Thorin said rudely.

"She's smarter than you may seem to think," Gandalf defended her.

"She can't fight," Thorin continued.

"She can learn," Gandalf shrugged.

"She's a distraction," Thorin finally said bluntly.

The table fell quiet again, as Gandalf could not deny this or defend her any further.

"She will only be a distraction if your men are easily distracted," he finally said quietly. "I do not think you have to worry for a dwarf taking interest in a woman such as Adaline."

Adaline wanted to feel insulted, but she understood. Thorin looked at her judgingly for a moment, silently agreeing with Gandalf. He knew it would be unlikely that one of the dwarves there would fall for her romantically.

"I understand your concern, Thorin," Gandalf spoke quietly. "But believe me, they are more an asset than a liability. Deonynn has been trained by some of the finest soldiers in Middle Earth, and Adaline has a vast amount of knowledge and intelligence behind her."

Thorin turned and looked at Gandalf, unconvinced.

"And she can cook," Gandalf then shrugged.

"Can you?" Bofur asked Adaline, who nodded shortly.

"Are you any good, lass?" Bombur asked her enthusiastically.

"Her cookings to die for," Deonynn defended her, "and her hunting's not half bad either."

"You'll get on with Bombur just great!" Bofur laughed as some of the dwarves nodded in agreement.

"Thorin," Gandalf said lowly as the dwarves, bar Dwalin, began to interrogate Adaline on her cooking skills. "I owe their father this much. If anything should happen to them I could not live with myself knowing I stood back and did nothing."

Gandalf and Thorin stared at each other silently.

"If you do not allow this, than I cannot guarantee I will join you on this quest," Gandalf finally threatened, exactly what Thorin had feared he'd say.

Thorin sighed and closed his eyes briefly. He needed Gandalf on this trip and he felt cheated that he was using it against him.

Thorin glanced at Adaline and Deonynn who were no laughing and chatting happily with the dwarves. He noticed Dwalin, sat beside Adaline, looking very unconvinced.

He could read Dwalin's mind and knew he was telling him not to allow the man and woman to join them at any costs. But Thorin could not slowly begin to debate that having another sword and cook amongst the group would a help.

"How long do you travel with us?" Thorin asked.

"Until we reach the edge of Mirkwood," Gandalf explained.

"You'll be leaving us so soon?" Thorin frowned.

"I shall return sooner than you'd know," Gandalf smiled, his eyes twinkling.

Thorin curled his hand into a fist and slowly and softly hit the table with it repetitively in thought.

"OK," he finally agreed. "They may join us until we reach the Mirkwood forest."

"You cannot think to share our quest with them, surely?" Balin asked Thorin.

"Master Balin, I can assure you that Adaline and Deonynn have no interest in your quest. They are simply looking to get home," Gandalf said.

"Like us," Ori muttered quietly, earning a jab in the side from Dori.

"Then it is settled," Thorin spoke. "Deonynn, you will help with guard watches and arm yourself whenever necessary. You are to help protect the company at all costs. Adaline, you shall help Bombur with the cooking. As well as this I expect you to clean and attend to any injuries we may encounter, which will hopefully be few in number."

Adaline sat still, her nostrils flared. She did not like to be bossed around and could sense she was being looked at like some common wench. However, she was very grateful the dwarves were allowing them to travel east with Gandalf, and for that, nodded her head at Thorin in agreement.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, hope you're all enjoying this so far!**

**Reviews are more than welcome ! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Adaline and Deonynn learnt a lot about the dwarves and their quest that night, as did Bilbo. The dwarves and Gandalf filled the three of them in on their intentions to return to Erebor and claim their homeland.

Gandalf had been right, neither Adaline nor Deonynn cared for the land of Erebor, or the treasures within. Neither did they fancy going face to face with Smaug, a dragon.

Once all serious matters had been taken care of, the dwarves dispersed around the hobbit's home, whilst Gandalf and Bilbo sat together in Bilbo's living room, talking things over. It became apparent Bilbo had previously had no idea of this quest and apparent that he did not _want_ to know anything of it.

Adaline had been walking back into the house from outside after checking on their horses when she passed Bilbo and Gandalf. Bilbo was clutching a mug of something hot, looking pale and upset. Adaline paused just off the archway in the hall, pitying the poor hobbit that looked as if he had just had a whole world of problems and responsibility thrust upon him; which in reality, he had.

"Are you OK?" a voice startled Adaline.

"Sorry," she said quickly, facing Fili who stood a couple of feet away. "Yes, fine."

"You looked miles away," he grinned, folding his arms.

"I was," Adaline said awkwardly. "You haven't seen Deonynn, have you?"

"He's in the kitchen with Oin and Gloin, showing them his sword," Fili told her.

"Ah, yes," Adaline laughed lightly. "He loves that thing."

"Elven made," Fili commented. "It pains me to say it but it is a very good blade."

Adaline nodded and smiled at the blonde dwarf.

"Can I ask you something?" she then questioned.

"Of course," Fili shrugged.

Adaline paused and studied the dwarf.

"You don't mind us joining you, do you?" she asked.

Fili hesitated for a moment, unfolding his arms and scratching the back of his head.

"Because your uncle –" Adaline suddenly added, fearing she had turned the situation awkward. "- he, urm...well, he seems to mind."

Fili laughed lightly and nodded his head.

"Yeah," he nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't worry about him. He's very serious about our mission, I think he just worries and fears the path ahead."

The two fell silent; a few of the dwarves in the dining room could be heard roaring with laughter.

"And you?" Adaline said quietly.

"What about me?" Fili frowned.

"Are you scared?" Adaline queried.

Fili parted his lips to speak but hesitated, then swallowed hard.

"Of course I am," he admitted. "But with saying that, I am also very excited."

Adaline smiled at Fili and his honesty. She had expected a stubborn speech on how 'dwarves are never scared'.

"Fili!" a voice yelled from down the hallway where the dining room lay.

Both Fili and Adaline turned to see Bofur stood at the end of the hallway, waving at them.

"Come join us!" Bofur called.

Fili looked at Adaline with raised eyebrows.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Oh, they don't want me there," Adaline admitted uncomfortably, looking down at her hands.

"What makes you say that?" Fili frowned.

Adaline looked at him with her lips parted, hoping it would have been obvious.

"You guys don't exactly like me and Deonynn," she finally told him. "I understand."

Fili laughed loudly.

"Well how do you expect us to like you if you cast yourself an outsider?" Fili grinned.

This hit home a little more harder than it should have. Her mother used to always ask her the same thing when she was growing up in Rivendell.

"Come on," Fili said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down the hallway to where Bofur had been stood.

* * *

"I do not like it," Dwalin said through gritted teeth, shaking his head angrily and glaring before him.

Dwalin, Thorin and Balin stood at the end of the hallway, the opposite end from the dining area.

"That wizard's up to something," Dwalin continued to vent. "I can feel it."

Thorin stood leaning against the wall that Dwalin rested his back against, whilt Balin sat opposite them on a small wooden chest.

"He would not betray us," Thorin said as he watched his nephew down the hallway take the woman's hand and lead her down to the dining area, a huge grin glued to his face; a grin that made Thorin feel uneasy for reasons he could not explain.

"How can you be for sure?" Dwalin asked.

"He has no need," Balin said for Thorin who was too preoccupied watching Fili disappear to reply.

"Money?" Dwalin stated. "What if he's working with the men of Gondor and he's taking us there to be captured?"

"Don't be absurd," Thorin scoffed, he had every faith in Gandalf. "Gandalf has no need for treasures or our home under the mountain and neither do the men of Gondor. He means well."

Dwalin grunted, clearly not agreeing with Thorin.

The group of three stood silently, taking in all that had unfolded that evening.

"But, that all being said and true, I will be keeping a careful eye on the two siblings," Thorin finally added. "Let's not forget what happened to dragon's riches under the Grey Mountains many years ago."

Dwalin nodded in agreement, finally getting some sense from his King. Balin on the other hand, sat looking unconvinced.

"You do not agree, brother?" Dwalin asked.

Balin sighed heavily and gave a weak smile.

"On one hand I agree," he spoke, "yet on the other, I see two lost children looking to find their way to a better home."

Dwalin scoffed and shook his head.

"They'll betray us," Dwalin muttered confidently. "Mark my words."

"Do not be so quick to judge," Balin snapped; his tone eerily reminded Dwalin of their mother's. "Not everyone in this world seeks to destroy."

"It does not matter either way," Thorin finally spoke. "We cannot do this without the wizard and he will not help us unless we abide by his rules."

Dwalin and Balin looked curiously at Thorin.

"We only have to travel with them a good twenty days ride," Thorin estimated, "and then we will be rid of them."

"Aye, and the sooner the better," Dwalin added.

"Gandalf speaks the truth," Thorin continued. "An extra sword will come of hand; something troubles me about what lays out there between us and Erebor."

"And the girl?" Dwalin asked. "What of her?"

Thorin looked from Balin to Dwalin with a serious expression.

"We do not risk our lives for her," Thorin ordered. "She fends for herself and that is the end of it."

* * *

Adaline had been sat with Bofur, Bifur, Fili, Kili, Nori and Ori for over an hour since Bofur had called Fili to join them, and she couldn't help but admit she was growing warmly to the dwarves.

She hated herself for telling Fili that they did not want her to join, as realistically they were more than happy to have her sat with them.

"It's simple really, when you think about it," Bofur said as the six of them sat at the dining table.

"No it isn't," Nori said, making the others laugh.

Bofur had been explaining how he believed they could create some sort of explosive that would cause Smaug the dragon to remain in a deep slumber, whilst they could go in and end the dragon's life.

"Bofur, he's a dragon!" Fili laughed. "Not only are they firstly not the same as us and would probably be immune to such a thing, nothing like that exists!"

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong," Bofur grinned confidently. "I met an old lady in the Blue Mountains, about twenty years ago. She told me about this mix her son had been working on –"

Bifur immediately mentioned something loudly in Khuzdul that Adaline could not understand.

"Old Lady Raeryan?" Nori suddenly laughed loudly.

The group of dwarves, Adaline and Bofur excluded, burst out into a loud laugh.

"I don't get it," Adaline said dumbly.

"Old Lady Raeryan was a crazy old lady who lived in the Blue Mountains," Fili explained. "She was adamant her son was going to invent the next best thing."

"But he never did," Kili added, "because they were a very odd family."

"I'll have you know Lady Raeryan is a very lovely, sweet old lady," Bofur defended. "Not only that, she was great business for Bifur and I."

Bifur nodded his head begrudgingly in agreement and shrugged lazily.

"Business?" Adaline frowned. "What did you do?"

"After Bifur and his family were forced out of Erebor, we had a dabble at toy making," Bofur explained. "We did quite well too."

Bifur grunted again in agreement.

"What kind of toys did you make?" Adaline asked, intrigued.

Bofur finished the end of his ale and placed the empty tankard on the table.

"I'll tell you," he said, standing up quickly, "when I have another drink."

"Please," Adaline said quickly, "allow me."

She took Bofur's empty tankard from the table and looked at the others.

"Can I get anyone else a drink?" she asked.

"Well thank you very much, lass," Bofur smiled brightly, sitting back down.

Kili was the only other person to hold up an empty tankard, gesturing for another. Taking Kili and Bofur's tankards, hoping to give a good impression to the dwarves, Adaline walked off towards the pantry where she had previously seen a large keg of ale sat.

Adaline placed Bofur's tankard under the tap of the keg and turned the nozzle for it to pour, however to her disappointment and annoyance nothing came out.

"Oh you've got to be kidding," she muttered, slamming the side of the large keg with the inside of her hand.

She sighed and looked around the pantry, wondering if there was another keg she could use.

"There's another one," someone spoke from behind Adaline.

She turned quickly to see Thorin stood in the archway of the pantry, leaning against it with his arms folded.

"Down there," he nodded his head lazily to the left. "You'll probably need one of the others to move it for you. You don't exactly look strong."

Adaline frowned and paused at his words, but shortly moved towards the hallway and passed Thorin.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I guess -"

"I need you to understand something," Thorin suddenly snarled, grabbing hold of her arm as she crossed to pass him; she stopped at a sudden halt as his large hand wrapped tightly around her arm.

She looked at him and frowned, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Thorin stood very still, refusing to move his steely eyes from hers.

"If you give me the slightest reason to remove you from this company, I will," he finally spoke after a moment's silence. "I will not risk the lives of my men for you. Do you understand me?"

Adaline was now breathing heavily. At first she had put this down to being scared by Thorin's sudden move to grab her and hold her still. Now he had spoken, she put it down to being blindly furious by his sudden (and unreasonable) threat.

"Thorin," she said quickly, "I do not know what impression you are under, but we are not here to threaten you."

"I do not think you are here to _threaten_ me," he said sharply. "If I am honest I do not know what I think about you and your brother. I just know I am not comfortable with it."

Thorin narrowed his eyes and hesitated, gripping her arm tighter. Adaline flared her nostrils and looked down at her arm where Thorin's hand was remained, grasping stronger and stronger by the second.

He followed her gaze and released her arm quickly; he had not meant to be so threatening towards her, even if he was not fond of her.

She took a step backwards away from him, rubbing her arm gently where he had grabbed at it.

"I understand that your mission is serious, Thorin," she spoke after a long pause, "but please understand, Deonynn and I had no intention of burdening ourselves on you like this. We will only ride with you just over twenty days and then you will never have to see us again."

Thorin stared at her with a familiar blank yet stern expression that Adaline was beginning to hate. His fists were clenched shut tightly and his chest rose up and down with heavy breaths.

Eventually, after what Adaline assumed was Thorin coming to a silent conclusion and agreement, he nodded at her.

She took this as her leave, walking hastily past him with her hand clutching her sore arm and refusing to look at him directly.

"One more thing," he called just as she had passed him and stood a few steps out of the pantry archway.

She hesitated before spinning around on her heels and looking at him questioningly, rapidly coming to the end of her tether with the stubborn dwarf.

"Keep your distance from Fili," Thorin said warningly. "I do not wish for you to give my nephew the wrong impression."

Adaline stood with her mouth hung open in disbelief, unsure that she had actually heard him correctly.

"Excuse me?" she frowned.

"Do not think I don't see the way he looks at you –"

"We've known each other a mere evening!" Adaline laughed in amazement at his accusation.

Thorin stood silently, continuing to stare at her disapprovingly; Adaline on the other hand stared back at him with a perplexed grin on her face. He could not be serious, could he? Her grin shortly washed away when she came to realise that he was in fact being deadly serious.

"I may be ignorant to how relationships work within Dwarven culture, but I assure you, Fili is simply treating me like a friend." Adaline told him matter-of-factly.

Thorin continued to watch her, clearly remaining very unconvinced.

"Is everything OK?" a voice suddenly spoke from behind Adaline, causing her and Thorin to flinch.

They both turned to find Gandalf looming over them with a heavy frown, aware of the thick tension in the room.

"Everything's fine," Adaline muttered, she walked towards the two tankards she had previously brought into the room with her and thrust them into Thorin's hands. "Thorin was just getting Bofur and Kili another ale."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry! Bit of a delay with this update.**

**Please review – all comments welcome! **


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